GK Gonzalez saves Morton vs. Willowbrook
Mustangs overcome red card for key WSC Gold victory
By Bill Stone
BERWYN -- Morton junior Dayanna Gonzalez admittedly gets nervous on the soccer field while playing goalie.
When a red card limited the Mustangs to 10 field players for nearly the entire second half Monday, Gonzalez initially saw her concerns intensify.
“That’s very stressful for me, because I feel as a goalie a lot of people put pressure on you,” Gonzalez said. “They say, ‘Oh, you’re the last line of defense,’ so playing with one player down really, I felt like, it put more stress on me and as a whole our team. I feel like I had to step up my game as well because of that one missing player.”
With just 10 Morton players, Gonzalez not only kept the game tied with huge back-to-back saves during less than a minute’s time, but she allowed sophomore Adriana Moreno to oportunity to score the game-winner with 13:54 remaining and lift the Mustangs to a key 2-1 West Suburban Conference Gold Division victory over Willowbrook.
Morton (9-5-0, 2-0-x), last year’s league tri-champions with Downers Grove South and Hinsdale South, remained undefeated in division play as it handed the Warriors (8-6-1, 3-1-x) their first league loss.
The consecutive saves in the 47th minute by Gonzalez, the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Match, definitely provided a spark for the Mustangs roughly three minutes after outside defender Esperanza Aranda received her second yellow card and subsequent soft red card with 36:40 remaining. The first yellow resulted in a game-tying penalty kick 1:41 before halftime.
“It shows how we could be (full strength), if we can beat Willowbrook with one man down,” said junior Melanie Carranza, who assisted Moreno and scored Morton’s first goal in the first half.
“If Dayanna can make those amazing saves, we have the opportunity to be able to play harder, quicker. If our goalie can block some of the best shots, then we can definitely give it our all.”
Moreno scored her team-high 14th goal from 27 yards after taking Carranza’s pass with her back to the net. Moreno turned, had room and her high shot went over outstretched Willowbrook goalie Ditza Montesinos.
“I just turned and I kicked it,” Moreno said. “I didn’t know it was going to go in, and it went over the goalie and went in. I was happy. I didn’t know it was going to go in so I was surprised.”
Morton coach Jim Bageanis wasn’t as surprised.
“We were just hoping we could get another chance because when Adriana’s up there, she can get a hold of a ball. She can do some damage with it,” Bageanis said. “She finally got a little bit of space. She was able to turn quickly and had a little bit of space. She got the ball over the top of the keeper, and she’s capable of doing that.”
The magnitude of the shot would never have been as great if not for the flurry of saves by Gonzalez starting late in the 46th minute.
On Willowbrook’s first corner kick of the match, junior Lizzy Florey sent a beautiful ball from the left wing that junior Sara Fitzgibbon one-timed with her foot in the air, but Gonzalez was there for the save.
Moments later, Fitzgibbon fed a free Julianna Paulsen down right wing, but Gonzalez thwarted that shot as well.
The feeling of accomplishment means even more because Gonzalez missed the 2018 season with a torn ACL tear in her right knee.
“I feel really proud of (those big saves) because this is my first year back,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I’m coming out with more enthusiasm and more determination. I’m very proud of those (saves), because it shows that I can do it. I can block one of the best shots that we’ve had (against us). It really brought me up as a player.”
As a sophomore, Gonzalez initially was injured while playing with Morton’s girls volleyball team. Returning to finish out the season, she then suffered the tear only weeks later playing club soccer when her leg became stuck on a muddy field.
“She definitely came up with two big saves, and they came at the right time,” Bageanis said. “We were down a player, and they were pressuring us. That gave us a little energy, and I think we started playing a little harder at that point when she made those saves. I think they thought, ‘Hey, we’re in trouble now,' and she came up with
two big saves. That gave us a little enthusiasm and momentum for a few minutes there, and then we carried it on.”
Bageanis had concerns about how his team might perform coming off a long and unresolved Monday night of action. Their home Gold Division game against Downers Grove South was halted and eventually suspended by lightning with no score and the final 29:53 of regulation needing to be played. The game is rescheduled to resume May 6 with Morton having a free kick from 25 yards out.
“The effort, they stepped it up (Tuesday),” Bageanis said. Morton led 23-12 in shots (10-7 on goal) and controlled play most of the first half, leading 12-4 in shots (5-3 on goal) and 2-0 in corner kicks.
Carranza put the ball home 15:56 before halftime after senior Jessica Franco had her shot stopped by Montesinos but then tapped the rebound over to Carranza, who is second on the team with eight goals. Franco and junior Medelin Loza are the no. 3 and 4 leading scorers.
“(Franco) kind of stretched out, tried to pass it to me, and boom. I was there,” Carranza said. “I know how (Bageanis) always tells us to go to the second ball or
rebound, and I knew that if I didn’t do it, he would get mad at me so I had to go. I knew this is my chance, and I took it.”
Willowbrook, however, tied the game just 1:41 before halftime.
Florey was fouled in the penalty area and sophomore Grace Tumilty converted the penalty kick.
Before that, the Warriors’ chances were minimal. Two dangerous crosses were grabbed in the crease by Gonzalez and another was dealt with by sophomore sweeper Joanna Solano.
After the red card, Solano showed leadership by keeping the defensive line intact as best as possible. The Mustangs dropped back one forward and paid special attention to Florey.
Less than a minute after Moreno scored, Solano also cleared Fitzgibbon’s free kick on goal that Gonzalez caught but dropped.
During the final minutes, Bageanis said some of his players were asking for substitutes, but that he felt he needed to “stay out there with who we had.”
“I think we’re doing pretty good (defensively). We started communicating since day one. We’re getting better,” said Solano, a converted midfielder from 2018. “At first, yeah, (defense was challenging), because I didn’t know what I was doing. But now I know.”
The victory was a big step simply in Morton’s history with the Warriors. Although the Mustangs have controlled the series in recent memory, none have been easy. Both teams started three seniors Tuesday.
“Willowbrook and us, it’s always a good game. It could go either way every year,” Bageanis said. “We’ve been lucky to have the advantage over them the last three years, but it’s usually a one-goal game. We’ve gone to shootouts in the past. It’s always competitive.”
Before completing the Downers Grove South game, Morton must play Hinsdale South on April 30 and Proviso East on May 1 in Gold Division action. They finish with Addison Trail on May 7.
Heading into the game, Willowbrook had beaten Proviso East 5-1, Leyden 6-0 and Addison Trail 7-0.
“The (title) goal is still within our reach,” Willowbrook coach Julio Del Real said. “We didn’t necessarily play our best today best today, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit. I thought Morton did a really nice job and so did we.
“I thought the girls did a lot of nice things that we’ve been looking for from them. We won a couple of 50-50 balls where we went a little bit harder than they did. I tell them it doesn’t matter who we play, because we have the skills necessary to play this game; we can compete with anyone if we play them tough as well.”
As Bageanis put it, the Mustangs needed Tuesday’s win “to give ourselves a chance to have a chance” at another Gold Division championship.
Perhaps Gonzalez can now approach those games with a little less tension.
“I feel like it’s a really great win, because we hustled out there. We’ve had a not-so-great record, but we’re getting there. We’re learning how to cope with each other, really how to play with different people,” Gonzalez said.
“I get really nervous really easily so I just remember what my coaches tell me -- stay on my toes, move with the ball, make sure to talk to my defense to see who’s open. My defense gives me really great help, because they’re always talking. I feel like they do such a great job, and they take off a lot of stress for me.”
Starting lineups
Morton
G – Dayanna Gonzalez
D – Joanna Solano
D – Lorena Jaimes
D – Esperanza Aranda
D – Nayelly Villalobos
M – Medelin Loza
M – Mayte Gongora
M – Melanie Carranza
M – Julissa Solano
F – Adriana Moreno
F – Jessica Franco
Willowbrook
G – Ditza Montesinos
D – Maura Heneghan
D – Izzy Manning
D – Abbey Spada
D – Jenna Vittorio
M – Grace Tumilty
M – Sara Fitzgibbon
M – Caitlyn Owen
M – Rachael Klamecki
F – Julianna Paulsen
F – Lizzy Florey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Dayanna Gonzalez, jr. GK, Morton
Game summary
Willowbrook 1 0 – 1
Morton 1 1 – 2
First half
Morton: Melanie Carranza (Jessica Flores) 24:04
Willowbrook: Grace Tumilty (PK) 38:19
Second half
Adriana Moreno (Melanie Carranza) 66:06
Goalies (saves)
Morton: Dayanna Gonzalez (6)
Willowbrook: Ditza Montesinos (8)
Shots (on goal)
Morton 23 (10)
Willowbrook 12 ( 7)
Corner kicks
Willowbrook 3
Morton 2
Mustangs overcome red card for key WSC Gold victory
By Bill Stone
BERWYN -- Morton junior Dayanna Gonzalez admittedly gets nervous on the soccer field while playing goalie.
When a red card limited the Mustangs to 10 field players for nearly the entire second half Monday, Gonzalez initially saw her concerns intensify.
“That’s very stressful for me, because I feel as a goalie a lot of people put pressure on you,” Gonzalez said. “They say, ‘Oh, you’re the last line of defense,’ so playing with one player down really, I felt like, it put more stress on me and as a whole our team. I feel like I had to step up my game as well because of that one missing player.”
With just 10 Morton players, Gonzalez not only kept the game tied with huge back-to-back saves during less than a minute’s time, but she allowed sophomore Adriana Moreno to oportunity to score the game-winner with 13:54 remaining and lift the Mustangs to a key 2-1 West Suburban Conference Gold Division victory over Willowbrook.
Morton (9-5-0, 2-0-x), last year’s league tri-champions with Downers Grove South and Hinsdale South, remained undefeated in division play as it handed the Warriors (8-6-1, 3-1-x) their first league loss.
The consecutive saves in the 47th minute by Gonzalez, the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Match, definitely provided a spark for the Mustangs roughly three minutes after outside defender Esperanza Aranda received her second yellow card and subsequent soft red card with 36:40 remaining. The first yellow resulted in a game-tying penalty kick 1:41 before halftime.
“It shows how we could be (full strength), if we can beat Willowbrook with one man down,” said junior Melanie Carranza, who assisted Moreno and scored Morton’s first goal in the first half.
“If Dayanna can make those amazing saves, we have the opportunity to be able to play harder, quicker. If our goalie can block some of the best shots, then we can definitely give it our all.”
Moreno scored her team-high 14th goal from 27 yards after taking Carranza’s pass with her back to the net. Moreno turned, had room and her high shot went over outstretched Willowbrook goalie Ditza Montesinos.
“I just turned and I kicked it,” Moreno said. “I didn’t know it was going to go in, and it went over the goalie and went in. I was happy. I didn’t know it was going to go in so I was surprised.”
Morton coach Jim Bageanis wasn’t as surprised.
“We were just hoping we could get another chance because when Adriana’s up there, she can get a hold of a ball. She can do some damage with it,” Bageanis said. “She finally got a little bit of space. She was able to turn quickly and had a little bit of space. She got the ball over the top of the keeper, and she’s capable of doing that.”
The magnitude of the shot would never have been as great if not for the flurry of saves by Gonzalez starting late in the 46th minute.
On Willowbrook’s first corner kick of the match, junior Lizzy Florey sent a beautiful ball from the left wing that junior Sara Fitzgibbon one-timed with her foot in the air, but Gonzalez was there for the save.
Moments later, Fitzgibbon fed a free Julianna Paulsen down right wing, but Gonzalez thwarted that shot as well.
The feeling of accomplishment means even more because Gonzalez missed the 2018 season with a torn ACL tear in her right knee.
“I feel really proud of (those big saves) because this is my first year back,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I’m coming out with more enthusiasm and more determination. I’m very proud of those (saves), because it shows that I can do it. I can block one of the best shots that we’ve had (against us). It really brought me up as a player.”
As a sophomore, Gonzalez initially was injured while playing with Morton’s girls volleyball team. Returning to finish out the season, she then suffered the tear only weeks later playing club soccer when her leg became stuck on a muddy field.
“She definitely came up with two big saves, and they came at the right time,” Bageanis said. “We were down a player, and they were pressuring us. That gave us a little energy, and I think we started playing a little harder at that point when she made those saves. I think they thought, ‘Hey, we’re in trouble now,' and she came up with
two big saves. That gave us a little enthusiasm and momentum for a few minutes there, and then we carried it on.”
Bageanis had concerns about how his team might perform coming off a long and unresolved Monday night of action. Their home Gold Division game against Downers Grove South was halted and eventually suspended by lightning with no score and the final 29:53 of regulation needing to be played. The game is rescheduled to resume May 6 with Morton having a free kick from 25 yards out.
“The effort, they stepped it up (Tuesday),” Bageanis said. Morton led 23-12 in shots (10-7 on goal) and controlled play most of the first half, leading 12-4 in shots (5-3 on goal) and 2-0 in corner kicks.
Carranza put the ball home 15:56 before halftime after senior Jessica Franco had her shot stopped by Montesinos but then tapped the rebound over to Carranza, who is second on the team with eight goals. Franco and junior Medelin Loza are the no. 3 and 4 leading scorers.
“(Franco) kind of stretched out, tried to pass it to me, and boom. I was there,” Carranza said. “I know how (Bageanis) always tells us to go to the second ball or
rebound, and I knew that if I didn’t do it, he would get mad at me so I had to go. I knew this is my chance, and I took it.”
Willowbrook, however, tied the game just 1:41 before halftime.
Florey was fouled in the penalty area and sophomore Grace Tumilty converted the penalty kick.
Before that, the Warriors’ chances were minimal. Two dangerous crosses were grabbed in the crease by Gonzalez and another was dealt with by sophomore sweeper Joanna Solano.
After the red card, Solano showed leadership by keeping the defensive line intact as best as possible. The Mustangs dropped back one forward and paid special attention to Florey.
Less than a minute after Moreno scored, Solano also cleared Fitzgibbon’s free kick on goal that Gonzalez caught but dropped.
During the final minutes, Bageanis said some of his players were asking for substitutes, but that he felt he needed to “stay out there with who we had.”
“I think we’re doing pretty good (defensively). We started communicating since day one. We’re getting better,” said Solano, a converted midfielder from 2018. “At first, yeah, (defense was challenging), because I didn’t know what I was doing. But now I know.”
The victory was a big step simply in Morton’s history with the Warriors. Although the Mustangs have controlled the series in recent memory, none have been easy. Both teams started three seniors Tuesday.
“Willowbrook and us, it’s always a good game. It could go either way every year,” Bageanis said. “We’ve been lucky to have the advantage over them the last three years, but it’s usually a one-goal game. We’ve gone to shootouts in the past. It’s always competitive.”
Before completing the Downers Grove South game, Morton must play Hinsdale South on April 30 and Proviso East on May 1 in Gold Division action. They finish with Addison Trail on May 7.
Heading into the game, Willowbrook had beaten Proviso East 5-1, Leyden 6-0 and Addison Trail 7-0.
“The (title) goal is still within our reach,” Willowbrook coach Julio Del Real said. “We didn’t necessarily play our best today best today, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit. I thought Morton did a really nice job and so did we.
“I thought the girls did a lot of nice things that we’ve been looking for from them. We won a couple of 50-50 balls where we went a little bit harder than they did. I tell them it doesn’t matter who we play, because we have the skills necessary to play this game; we can compete with anyone if we play them tough as well.”
As Bageanis put it, the Mustangs needed Tuesday’s win “to give ourselves a chance to have a chance” at another Gold Division championship.
Perhaps Gonzalez can now approach those games with a little less tension.
“I feel like it’s a really great win, because we hustled out there. We’ve had a not-so-great record, but we’re getting there. We’re learning how to cope with each other, really how to play with different people,” Gonzalez said.
“I get really nervous really easily so I just remember what my coaches tell me -- stay on my toes, move with the ball, make sure to talk to my defense to see who’s open. My defense gives me really great help, because they’re always talking. I feel like they do such a great job, and they take off a lot of stress for me.”
Starting lineups
Morton
G – Dayanna Gonzalez
D – Joanna Solano
D – Lorena Jaimes
D – Esperanza Aranda
D – Nayelly Villalobos
M – Medelin Loza
M – Mayte Gongora
M – Melanie Carranza
M – Julissa Solano
F – Adriana Moreno
F – Jessica Franco
Willowbrook
G – Ditza Montesinos
D – Maura Heneghan
D – Izzy Manning
D – Abbey Spada
D – Jenna Vittorio
M – Grace Tumilty
M – Sara Fitzgibbon
M – Caitlyn Owen
M – Rachael Klamecki
F – Julianna Paulsen
F – Lizzy Florey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Dayanna Gonzalez, jr. GK, Morton
Game summary
Willowbrook 1 0 – 1
Morton 1 1 – 2
First half
Morton: Melanie Carranza (Jessica Flores) 24:04
Willowbrook: Grace Tumilty (PK) 38:19
Second half
Adriana Moreno (Melanie Carranza) 66:06
Goalies (saves)
Morton: Dayanna Gonzalez (6)
Willowbrook: Ditza Montesinos (8)
Shots (on goal)
Morton 23 (10)
Willowbrook 12 ( 7)
Corner kicks
Willowbrook 3
Morton 2